We were contacted by
CBP Engineering, a firm specializing in abrasion resistant materials and fittings,
to assist them in getting some as-built documentation at a Consol Energy coal
prep plant in Southwestern Pennsylvania. So we hauled in our nice clean laser scanner into the grit and grime of the plant to capture a 42” feed
distributor, a relatively small piece
of equipment, but positioned and tied in a fairly complex manner - not an easy job for someone with a tape measure and some levels.

Paul, the Engineering Supervisor heading
up the project, was particularly interested in the location of the flanges
connecting the feed distributor to the cyclones below; while documentation of
the equipment exists, the constant barrage of materials passing through and the
heavy vibrations of the machinery render much of the existing drawings next to
useless. Due to the nature of the parts produced by CBP (many of which are
ceramic), the fittings cast must be within a very low error tolerance. Needless to say, a perfect application for laser scanners!

We were able to capture the
essential features of the feed distributor in 10 scans with a
Focus3D X 330, using
our
Flexi Reference Spheres for registration. An unexpected little snag in the
proceedings was the complete lack of any ferrous material to attach spheres to;
such a plant typically has an abundance of places to clip spheres to. The
reason for this, Paul explained, was the nature of the paint used on the
columns and structural elements. Due to the caustic environment the steel is
treated with multiple coats of paint, often several mm thick.

Another interesting discovery made
during the registration of the scans was that reflective strips on our PPE did not
get picked up by the scanner!

While using a laser scanner isn’t
quite as thrilling as precariously perching on a cat walk while trying to grab
a dimension the good-ole-fashioned way, the detail and definition picked up in
those hard to reach spaces more than makes up for the lack of excitement.